Citizen police volunteers patrol the streets and help beef up the presence of local law enforcement agencies, while saving cities hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.

But the recent shooting deaths of two auxiliary officers in New York City have raised their profile and questions about their safety.

The unarmed volunteers carry whistles and police radios while doing tasks that don’t require professional officers, like serving subpoenas, directing traffic on major incidents and helping with graffiti cleanup.

But some argue that putting uniforms on civilians can draw the attention – and perhaps the gunfire – of criminals, making them unarmed targets.

Montebello police Cpl. Gus Cisneros, who helps train the volunteer unit, said criminals do not stop to notice that they are not real officers.

“Crooks see the uniforms and don’t necessarily know the difference between the Citizens’ Patrol and the sworn officers,” he said. “At first our officers weren’t comfortable with the idea of putting civilians in uniforms with no way to protect themselves.”

Officials said the volunteers are essential to law enforcement agencies and argue they are instructed not to get entangled in potentially dangerous situations.

“We don’t want to put them in harm’s way, but you never know,” said Pasadena police Cmdr. Rick Law. “We’ve been lucky so far.”

While the New York volunteers were following on foot a man suspected of shooting a nearby restaurant employee, local volunteers are instructed not make arrests or get into confrontations, officials said.

“We most definitely wouldn’t have that,” said Whittier police Sgt. Dominic Iraldo, the volunteer coordinator. “We are very strict when it comes to things like that.”

He said volunteers have been removed from their positions in the past for attempting similar activities.

Pasadena police volunteer Dr. Rick Neumann, retired dean of counseling at Pasadena City College, said he has never been in a position where he felt unsafe in his eight years of volunteering.

“The department does not put us in dangerous situations,” he said.

Like many other volunteers, the 74-year-old retiree said donating his time to the Police Department offers him an opportunity to give back to the community he has lived and worked in for decades.